16.1.09

I took advantage of my 4 day weekby visiting my first venue (!!!) in La Jolla--Darlington House. Darlington House is a historical site and is owned and operated by the Social Service League of La Jolla. The rental fee for weddings goes towards their organization, which provides housing and meal support for senior citizens. This is a big plus for me, because I'd really like to be supporting a worthy cause.

So what did I think of my first venue outing?

In a word, it was darling. Pun intended. It is a cute, charming white house ONE BLOCK from the beach. It has a lot of vintage details that are absolutely beautiful. The wallpaper for instance--of my goodness, the wallpaper! I didn't realize how excited I could get about WALLPAPER. Funny enough, my favorite wallpaper in the house were in the bathrooms.

What? Fabric backdrop? Who needs one when we can go take pictures in the awesome bathroom!

Unfortunately, there are the drawbacks: 1) No parking=valet service=$$ I would like to spend elsewhere. 2) I would have to provide all rentals. 3) And use their preferred catering list. 4) Things need to start shutting down at 9:30 because it is in a residential area. 5) It is indeed charming and pretty. But I felt like the wedding I envision, something colorful, playful, and whimsical, would be better suited in a park or big grassy lawn rather than a historical site. What do you think?

It is of course the first of many, and if I need to jog my memory, I took all of these pictures of the site. If you plan to get married in San Diego, I highly recommend visiting Darlington House.

And now here's a sampling of the obsessive picture taking extravaganza I had there:

[Darlington House is located in La Jolla, 15 minutes from our apartment, a hop and skip away from the beach]

[This is the front entrance where guests would arrive.]

[There were three main patio areas which all had beautiful Spanish tiling, colorful details, and flowers and fruit blooming. I spotted this lemon tree in the corner]

[This is the largest patio area where the reception would be held.]

[This gate connects the ceremony area to the reception area.]

[The Egyptian Pond--super charming, isn't it?]

[This is where the ceremony would be held. Isn't that art piece on the wall killer?]

[An up close shot of the killer art piece]

[The door frames had these scalloped edges that kinda make me drool because of how pretty they are.]

[Plates hung inside the house near the kitchen.]

[Let's go upstairs, shall we?]

[Where the boy would get pretty.]

[Where I would get pretty.]

[Le sigh.]

[This is a great example of the little details that make up this house's charm. These were the knobs in the bride's dressing room and were just too pretty not to admire.]

[Exhibit A of awesome wallpaper]

[Exhibit B of awesome wallpaper]

[Exhibit C of awesome wallpaper]

[Exhibit D of awesome wallpaper]

[A detail of the Spanish tiles that are all over Darlington House.]

PS: For some eye candy, check out Leigh Miller's blog with recent photos of Darlington House.

OH.MY.GOSH! A Lemon tree! Living in Canada if I walked into this venue and saw the lemon tree I would have signed on the dotted line! The wall paper alone makes me feel faint!Just finished reading your proposal posts and basically now need to go to that restaurant and that hotel..all you can eat candy and champange? I think my heart is about to burst!

Yes, I take California for granted way too often! All I could think about was the lack of parking despite being dazzled by the decor and gardens. And yes, if you ever visit San Diego, Hotel Del is a must visit!